


Origami

by michiko (afire)



Series: once upon a december [1]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-19
Updated: 2015-04-19
Packaged: 2018-03-24 17:58:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3778072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afire/pseuds/michiko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He leaves origami animals on the table before leaving </p><p>or</p><p>Luke doesn't have the courage to ask her out so he expresses his affections in the form of paper animals</p>
            </blockquote>





	Origami

8am, Hailey decided, was much too early to be awake, at least for any reasonable human being. Unfortunately for her, her boss was neither human nor reasonable, demanding that the morning shift be in for work by 8.30 to " get the shop ready " for the " first customers of the day". Hailey knew he just wanted to get into the city as fast as possible because nothing ever happened in this little town. She didn't blame him, if she could go to the city she would, but alas it wasn't going to happen, so she had to suck it up and get her butt into work before she got fired from yet another job.

The bell tinkled above her as she pushed through the glass door to get in, annoyingly bright and cheery. Hailey found that bright and cheery things should be banned, at least before noon, when she was half awake and blindly bumping into people or things more than half the time.

At 9 on the dot someone walked in. there goes my excuse that no one would be awake this early on a Sunday, she thought sullenly, turning to face the customer. She didn't know what she expected, a flustered college student, an old couple or maybe the mailman. She certainly hadn't expected a boy of her age to be standing opposite her, he was smiling, something noticeably both cheery and bright. Hailey found herself smiling back, disregarding the ' no happy things before noon rule ', it wasn't because he was cute, nope, not at all.

" Hi I'd like a tall espresso please, extra shot.", he said, and she noticed that he had a cute accent, which wasn't helping things much.

" coming right up.", she said, ringing up his order and turning to make it. Her hands were shaking because it was cold, not because he was still looking at her. " can I get a name to write on the cup?", she asked, mentally cringing as soon as the words left her mouth. There was no one else in the store, and writing his name down would be redundant.

The boy didn't seem to mind though, if anything, his smile grew wider as he replied, " It's Luke.". Luke, simple and yet with a touch of elegance, she thought as she wrote it down.

" Here you go, thank you for ordering.", she said, remembering to shell out the customary " gratitude because whoever bought from the store is a paying customer and we thank all out paying customers". Luke grinned at her, accepting his drink and going off.

She had expected him to leave the shop, but instead he found a table and sat down, bringing out a stack of square papers and, presumably, starting to work. If she said she wasn't paying more attention to that corner than she usually did, she would be lying.

It was two hours later that he finally packed everything up, she would've sworn he flashed her a smile before sliding out into the sunshine. Hailey shook her head from side to side, trying to clear her thoughts. That was when something caught her attention, it was sitting on the table that Luke had just vacated. She glanced around the shop, it was relatively empty, and she still had around 20 minutes before the teenage rush hour.

Hailey got out from behind the counter and walked toward the table, curiosity now piqued. It appeared to be a piece of origami, a penguin in fact. Cute little thing in black and white. It appeared that Luke knew his stuff. It could have been for someone else, but Hailey pocketed it anyway.

The penguin sat on the drawer beside her bed that night, of many more pieces to come.

* * *

 

The next day was a Monday, and Hailey generally hated those. She had to get up even earlier to open up the shop, and by the time she got behind the counter she was already grumbling to herself about how she hated mornings. The shop opened at 8 on the weekdays, because of how people who worked would come in to grab a drink before going off.

At 8 on the dot, the bell by the door tinkled to let her know a customer was here. Hailey looked up, eyes widening when she realized that it was Luke once again. ' Hello!", he grinned cheerily, waving a hand.

" I uh, hi there.", she stuttered. Wow smooth, only the second time she was seeing him and already Hailey had managed to make a fool out of herself. " what can I get for you today?"

" tall expresso, extra shot please.", Luke said in reply, digging around in his pockets for his wallet. He had ordered the same drink as the day before, Hailey wondered if he was one of those people that only ever ordered one type of drink. They were horribly boring.

" coming right up.", she said, pushing the buttons on the cashier to get his money in before turning to make the drink, as she had done the day before. Hailey reached into her apron pocket to grab a marker to write his name, determined not to make a big deal out of it as she did yesterday.

" cheers.", Luke smiled when she handed it over, his blue eyes sparkling with something akin to amusement. She had to fight the blush that was slowly creeping up her face. He settled in that same table again, bringing out his stack of square papers. Hailey had come to the conclusion that he was folding origami, why though, she didn't know. One day she would have the courage to walk up and ask him about it, but that day was not now.

Once again he started to pack up 2 hours later, this time he waved and gave her a cheeky grin before sliding out the doors. Hailey found herself smiling back instinctively, before her vision was drawn to the table he was sitting at yet again. On top of it was another vaguely animal-shaped thing.

Hailey got out from behind the counter, this time not even bothering to check whether there were customers she needed to serve. ( There weren't any, luckily enough ) She high-tailed it to the table, picking up the origami animal. This time it was a panda. Constructed so that it looked like it was waving at her. She couldn't help but smile.

Panda sat beside Penguin that night on the drawer beside her bed.

* * *

 

Tuesdays were a reprieve for Hailey. Work started at 10, and so she could at least roll around in bed and avoid the alarm for an extra hour. At times, she questioned why she worked the morning shift, but then remembered that she had classes in the afternoon and it couldn't be helped if she wanted to keep her temporary housing and not get kicked out onto the street.

She was behind the counter at 9.45, hastily tying the apron around her back. Hailey wondered if Luke would be coming in today, he seemed to like this shop, regardless of his coffee choices. She found herself repeatedly glancing at the door as the clock ticked closer to 10.

He walked in when she was stocking up the machine with more coffee beans, the bell startling her into almost dropping the bag. She fumbled for a moment, before setting it down safely on the countertop and closing the lid of the machine. Hailey spun around, grinning sheepishly at Luke. " sorry I'm a bit of a klutz, are you having the usual?", strange how, after he ordered the same drink twice, Hailey was already referring to it as his 'usual'.

Luke however, didn't seem to mind. " yup, same thing.", he said, money already in his hand. She dialled the order up so she could stuff the money into the cashier, other hand already reaching for his cup. Hailey wrote his name down again, even though the shop was empty save for them.

" thank you.", he smiled, when she handed it over to him. As expected, Luke sat down at the very same table and brought out his stack of paper again. Hailey found it weird that he had so much paper, yet seemed to leave with none, and having only one completed piece to show for his work. It wasn't until she went to clear the bin that she found out why this was the case.

The bin was filled to the brim with crumpled up origami paper, Luke's failed works she guessed. And if he threw away so many, then was it possible he was spending two hours trying to learn how to fold just one animal? And he left it for her as well. She couldn't fight the blush this time. Fortunately it was dark in this corner of the shop, and she hoped that he wasn't looking in her direction.

After the two hours were up, Luke packed up his stuff once more, this time blowing her a kiss as he walked out. Hailey fought down a wide grin, not wanting anyone to think she was a maniac for smiling at nothing. She walked over to his table the moment he turned the corner on the street, this time it was a cute little ostrich, its feathers drawn on with intricate detail.

It sat on the drawer as well, beside Penguin and Panda.

* * *

 

Wednesdays were usually really busy, the shop was frequented by college students wanting caffeine to ensure that they lasted the rest of the week. Hailey was in the shop by 8.30 once more, making sure the menu was updated. God knew who climbed up to write down all the drinks in chalk, but Hailey wasn't going to complain since it wasn’t her.

This Wednesday was especially busy, seeing as it was also Valentine's Day. People were flocking in to buy chocolates and their themed drinks to give to their significant other. Hailey was busy from the moment the shop opened, and didn't notice when Luke was the next one in queue. She looked up from the register and was greeted with his bright grin. It took her a moment to reply, " I, uh, hi. Same thing?", she asked, flustered. It had been a really fast morning.

" same as always.", was Luke's answer, sliding the money across the counter toward her. She wrote his name, like she did the last three times, before handing the cup toward him. " thank you.", Luke said with a cheery grin as he accepted the cup, moving toward his table once more.

Hailey was kept busy for the next 2 hours, selling the hell out of their chocolate. By the time Luke was packing up, she was exhausted and so was their supply of chocolate. This time though, he didn’t just leave. He picked up the thing he was working on and brought it to her, placing it in front of her on the counter before jogging out of there, as if he didn't want to stay for her to look at it.

It was a swan, but it looked different. She picked it up, turning it over in her hands before realizing that it could be opened. Curious, she flipped it open to see what was inside. There were 8 simple words, coupled with a cute drawing of an ostrich, a penguin and a panda.

" Will you go on a date with me? "

Swan had the privilege on sitting on top of her books, higher than the other animals, beside a girl that tossed and turned the whole night.

* * *

 

Thursday dawned bright and early, and Hailey found herself bustling into the shop at her designated time of 9am, feeling considerably happier than she had been on Monday. She didn't let herself spend too much time wondering why.

It took half an hour for Luke to show up, during which Hailey busied herself with everything that she didn't normally care to do. Straightening the brochures and making sure all the chairs were pushed in.

When Luke finally did arrive, his gait was more hesitant, and when she looked up at him from her spot behind the counter, he was averting her gaze, one hand reaching up to rest in his blond hair. He as probably going to say something, but Hailey wasn't going to wait around for it. She reached up and grabbed his collar, dragging him down and crashing his mouth to hers.

Luke laughed into the kiss, hand that was previously in his hair reaching round to settle gently on her cheek. When she pulled away, his bright blue eyes were once again sparkling with amusement and, dare she say it, something more. " so I'm guessing that's a yes?", he asked, a little breathless.

" I don't have classes today and work ends at noon.", was her reply, and Luke laughed, leaning down to kiss her again.

This time, instead of sitting at a table, he hovered around the counter, cracking jokes and making her laugh as she went about doing her job.

Somehow Hailey didn't think she'd ever complain about coming in to work ever again.


End file.
